Why Getting the First Years Right May Matter Most

While many retirees may live long and healthy lives, the years when travel feels easy, energy remains high, and independence comes naturally are often concentrated in the first decade or so after leaving work. Retirement planning should account for more than longevity alone. It should reflect how your lifestyle, spending, and priorities evolve, as retirees may live well into their 90s.

Understanding the difference between lifespan and health span can help shape a more realistic and rewarding retirement income strategy.

Retirement spending often peaks during your healthiest years

Retirement spending does not stay level throughout retirement. Financial professionals often describe retirement in three phases: the “go-go years,” the “slow-go years,” and the “no-go years.”

In the early years of retirement, spending often increases as retirees travel, pursue hobbies, volunteer, and spend more time with family. These are often the years when people are healthiest, most mobile, and most able to enjoy the lifestyle they worked decades to build.

Later, spending may naturally decline, not necessarily because retirees become more conservative, but because physical limitations can change what is practical. Long-distance travel often becomes more difficult, full-day outings require more recovery, and lifestyle choices shift.

In later retirement, healthcare and long-term care expenses may rise, even as discretionary spending decreases.

This pattern can make retirement planning more complex than simply creating a flat annual income target. Your financial plan and retirement strategy should capture your goals, values, and known adjustments to your spending, with frequent updates as needed. This strategy is designed to help manage spending during the “go-go years” with the focus of not putting spending goals at risk during the “no-go” phase of retirement.

Retirement planning should reflect your “good years”

Traditional retirement planning often assumes spending will remain relatively consistent over 25 to 30 years. In reality, the value of money evolves over time as goals, values, and health change.

A dollar spent at age 65 on meaningful travel, family experiences, or a long-delayed personal goal may create significantly more value than the same dollar preserved for age 85, when health and mobility may be more limited.

This does not mean overspending early in retirement. It means building a retirement income strategy that aligns spending with the years when you are most likely to benefit from it. For many retirees, this means intentionally “front-loading” experiences rather than postponing them indefinitely, and it requires thoughtful goal planning in the months and years leading up to retirement. The trip you want to take, the volunteer work you want to pursue, or the time you want to spend with grandchildren may be easier to enjoy now than 10 years from now.

Retirement lifestyle planning requires more than saving

Many people spend decades building financial discipline, delaying gratification, and prioritizing long-term security. This mindset is valuable while accumulating wealth, but retirement often requires a shift in perspective. Retirement lifestyle planning means asking not only whether you can afford something, but whether delaying it creates unnecessary regret. We are used to market risk as investors, but many people forget to account for the risk of regret in retirement, and this is where thoughtful planning with an advisor can have the most impact.

Questions to consider include:

• Are you postponing meaningful experiences because of habit rather than necessity?
• Are you planning for security at the expense of enjoyment?
• Are you prioritizing inheritance goals over present-day quality of life?
• Are your financial decisions aligned with the retirement you actually want?

Retirement should be supported by purpose, relationships, and experiences. Although account balances matter, new retirees should not overlook the importance of strong social connections. Leaving the workforce often means losing built-in structure and daily interaction, and this can be a major adjustment for new retirees. Planning for friendships, family time, and community involvement can be just as important as planning for income.

A retirement income strategy built for real life

A strong retirement income strategy should reflect both flexibility and timing. Some retirees use a bucket strategy to help manage this transition:

• Short-term assets, such as cash and cash equivalents, for immediate income needs
• Intermediate-term investments, such as bonds for stability
• Long-term growth assets, such as equities for future needs

This structure can help support the “bridge years” between retirement and claiming Social Security or other income sources while allowing confidence to spend intentionally during active years. In a bucket strategy, asset location also matters. It’s important to understand how various accounts are taxed, allowing buckets to be structured with tax efficiency in mind.

Thoughtful planning with a trusted advisor in the years before retirement is equally important to planning in retirement, as it helps ensure your investments align with your goals.

Questions to ask before you retire

As retirement approaches, working with a wealth advisor can help align your retirement budgeting with your real priorities. Key questions include:

• What experiences matter most in the first 10 years of retirement?
• How much flexibility should your retirement spending plan include?
• Will healthcare costs significantly affect your income needs?
• Should debt be reduced before retirement begins?
• How should you balance family support, inheritance goals, and personal enjoyment?
• Are your investment and withdrawal strategies designed for changing spending patterns over time?

A retirement plan should support both financial security and the freedom to enjoy the years that matter most.